| Barberetta | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Commelinales |
| Family: | Haemodoraceae |
| Subfamily: | Haemodoroideae |
| Genus: | Barberetta Harv. |
| Species: | B. aurea |
| Binomial name | |
| Barberetta aurea Harv. | |
Barberetta is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the family Haemodoraceae. It contains only one known species, Barberetta aurea. [1]
Barberetta aurea grows to up to 30 cm (12 in) high from a tuberous rootstock and develops about 3 leaves that are arranged like a fan, flattened sideways and so creating a left and right surface rather than an upper and lower surface. The leaves lack a leafstalk, are lance-shaped in outline, hairless, up to 35 cm (1.15 ft) long and 0.6–2 cm (0.24–0.79 in) wide at midlength, narrowing gradually to the foot and the tip, and have five distinct vertical ribs and several finer ribs in between. The stem is weak, 15–30 cm (0.49–0.98 ft) long, with some hairs towards the top, and carries its many flowers in a simple raceme, of 5–7.5 cm (2.0–3.0 in) long. The stalks of the individual flower are inclined upwards, the lower flower stalks are 1.3–2 cm (0.51–0.79 in) long. Wrapped around the foot of each flower stalk is a persistent lance-shaped bract of up to 5 mm (0.20 in) long. The star-symmetric perianth consists of six tepals of about 7 mm (0.28 in) long and 4 mm (0.16 in) wide, that are yolk yellow when fresh and bright orange when dry. The upper three tepals have an orange spot at their base. The stamens are approximately 7 mm (0.28 in) long. The two upper filaments ascend and slightly diverge, while the lower filament diverges strongly in the direction opposite to the style. The filaments are yellow and carry very short, orange, elliptic anthers. The ovary is green in colour and about 2 mm (0.079 in) in diameter and contains one ovule of approximately 1 mm (0.039 in) in diameter. The ovary is a yellow style of 6–7 m (240–280 in)m long that is strongly bent sideways and carries an orange coloured stigma. The ovary develops into an initially yellow, later blackish half egg-shaped capsule of about 4 m (160 in) across that contains a single orange finely papillous seed of around 3 mm (0.12 in). The sap of this plant stains paper red. [2] Barberetta aurea has a base chromosome count of 15 (n=15). [3] [4] Small corms grow in the axils of the bracts that are responsible for vegetative reproduction. [5]
Barberetta aurea was described in 1868 by William Henry Harvey. [6] [7] The genus Barberetta is named in recognition of a Mrs. Barber who collected this plant for science. [2] [8] Aurea is a Latin word meaning "golden".
Comparison of homologous DNA has increased the insight in the phylogenetic relationships between the genera in the Haemodoroideae subfamily. The following tree represents those insights. [9]
| subfamily Haemodoroideae |
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Barberetta aurea is endemic to South Africa (Eastern Cape province and KwaZulu-Natal). Like in the species of the closely related genus Wachendorfia , two types of individuals occur, plants with only flowers with the style curved to the left and plants with flowers with the style curved to the right, and these are both present within the same populations. This so-called floral enantiomorphy is thought to be a mechanism to increase outcrossing and so boost genetic diversity. [10] The species grows in moist and shaded locations. [2] Barberetta aurea is considered a least-concern species. [11]
Clivia is a genus of monocot flowering plants native to southern Africa. They are from the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Amaryllidoideae. Common names are Natal lily or bush lily.
Leucospermum commonly known as pincushions, is a genus of evergreen upright, sometimes creeping shrubs that is assigned to the Proteaceae, with currently 48 known species.
Babiana is a genus of geophytes in the family Iridaceae with 93 recognized species as of March 2022. The leaves consist of a stalk and a blade that are at an angle to each other. The leaf blades are entire, laterally flattened and pleated, and often hairy. Each individual flower is subtended by two hairy or smooth bracts that are green in most species. The outer bract is often the largest of the two. In most species the bracts have a dry, brown tip, but in a few species it is entirely green or entirely dry when flowering or the outer bract is translucent and has a papery texture. The inner bract is forked or split all the way to its base. Each flower is without a pedicel, with six tepals that are merged at their base into a tube and form a perianth that is mirror-symmetrical in most species, with three anthers implanted where the perianth tube widens and that are, in almost every species, clustered at one side of the style. The style has three branches that widen towards the tip and the ovary is inferior. Flowers occur in almost every conceivable colour, many have markings on some of the tepals, and few star-symmetrical flowers have a centre that strongly contrasts with the free part of the perianth. The majority of these species are endemic to the west and southwest of South Africa, and southwestern Namibia, but one species occurs elsewhere in Namibia and South Africa and another species can be found in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The genus name is derived from the Dutch word baviaan, referring to the Chacma baboon, Papio ursinus, that consumes the corms of plants in the genus. The genus is called bobbejaantjie in Afrikaans, meaning small baboon.
Aphloia is a genus of flowering plants that contains a single species, Aphloia theiformis, the sole species of the monogeneric family Aphloiaceae. It is a species of evergreen shrubs or small trees occurring in East Africa, Madagascar, the Mascarene Islands and the Seychelles.
Wachendorfia is a genus of perennial herbaceous plants that is assigned to the bloodroot family. The plants have a perennial rootstock with red sap. From the rootstock emerge lance- or line-shaped, sometime sickle-shaped, pleated, simple leaves set in a fan, that are flattened to create a left and right surface rather than an upper and lower surface. The leaves die when the seeds are shed in three of the species, and are perennial in one species.
Babiana ambigua is a species of plant in the Iridaceae. It is endemic to the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is a geophyte, that appears from an underground corm every year and grows to a height of 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in) or occasionally up to 16 cm (6.3 in). Its leaves are pleated, hairy, lance-shaped, reaching higher than the inflorescence. The fragrant, mirror-symmetric, blue to mauve flowers, consist of six tepals merged into a tube at their base, but with free lobes at the top. The lower lateral tepals have whitish markings accentuated by a more intense blue line along their margin. Each flower is supported by two green bracts sometimes with a brownish tip, and the inner bract is divided entirely to its base. There are three anthers crowded to the dorsal side of the perianth and a style divided in three branches on top of a smooth ovary. Flowers can be found from late July at sea level to the end of September at high altitude.
Dilatris is a genus of four species of evergreen perennial herbaceous plants of up to 60 cm (2.0 ft) high, that are assigned to the bloodroot family. The plants have hairless, line- to lance-shaped leaves set in a fan that emerges from a red or orange coloured rootstock. Six free tepals with some gland dots near their tips are present on the mauve or dirty yellow flowers' six free petals. The other two stamens are longer and spreading with smaller scarlet anthers, while the one stamen is short, upright, and has a large, yellow anther. The style is diverted from the centre opposite both longer stamens. The species only occur in the Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces of South Africa.
Leucospermum gerrardii is an evergreen, mat-forming shrub of mostly about 30 cm (12 in) high and up to 1 m (3.3 ft) in diameter, with branches originating from an underground rootstock. It has narrow leaves, sometimes with three or four teeth near the tip, and prominent, raised, netted to parallel veins. The flower heads are egg-shaped about 5 cm (2 in) in diameter and consist of at first yellow, later orange or scarlet perianths, and long styles reaching far beyond the perianth and together giving the impression of a pincushion. It is assigned to the family Proteaceae. It can be found in South Africa and Eswatini. It mostly flowers between September and November. The species is called dwarf pincushion or soapstone pincushion in English.
Xochiquetzallia is a genus of geophytic flowering plants of the subfamily Brodiaeoideae in the family Asparagaceae. The genus contains four species: three previously classified within the genus Dandya and one other previously classified within Milla. Earlier genetic and morphological research had shown that the broad Milla clade of plants is made up of two sister lineages. The four plant species now within Xochiquetzallia make up one of these lineages, and are more closely related to each other than they are to the second lineage, which is made up of the remaining Milla species, Dandya purpusii, and the genera Behria, Bessera, Jaimehintonia and Petronymphe. Jorge Gutiérrez and Teresa Terrazas, two of the botanists who worked on the earlier research, followed up in 2020 with a paper formally transferring the four species from Dandya and Milla to Xochiquetzallia.
Wachendorfia thyrsiflora, the marsh butterfly lily, is a plant species of 0.6–2.5 m (2.0–8.2 ft) high when flowering, that has been assigned to the bloodroot family. It is a large to very large evergreen perennial plant with an underground rootstock with clusters of roots produced at the nodes. The rootstock has a distinctive red colour that results from so-called arylphenalenone pigments. The sturdy, entire and broadly sword-shaped leaves have laterally flattened and pleated leaf blades. The golden yellow flowers are set a dense cylindrical panicle on a tall firm stalk. Flowering occurs from spring until mid-summer.
Wachendorfia paniculata is a species of plant of 10–90 cm (3.9–35.4 in) high, that emerges during the winter from an underground rootstock. It has entire, sword-shaped, mostly hairy, line- to lance-shaped, straight or sickle-shaped leaves, set in a fan at ground level with a lax to dense panicle consisting of pale apricot to yellow mirror-symmetric flowers with six tepals, three stamens and a undivided style that curves either to the right or left. The species is assigned to the bloodroot family. Flowering occurs between August and December at sea level, and until early February at high altitude, with a distinct peak from September to November. It can only be found in the Cape provinces of South Africa. Like other species of Wachendorfia, it is called butterfly lily in English and rooikanol or spinnekopblom in Afrikaans, and this species in particular is also called koffiepit in Afrikaans.
Wachendorfia brachyandra is a small to large, 10–65 cm (3.9–25.6 in) high, winter-growing, perennial herbaceous plant that grows from a rootstock, and has been assigned to the bloodroot family. Its simple, entire, line- to lance-shaped leaves that are usually shorter than the stem, and have pleated, laterally flattened leaf blades af about 35 mm (1.4 in) wide, meaning that there are left and right surfaces rather than upper and lower. The inflorescence is a lax panicle and at the base of each flowerstalk is a dry, brown and papery bract, and those higher in the panicle have a recurved tip. The mirror-symmetrical pale apricot-yellow flowers consist of six tepals and are adorned with brown markings on the upper three tepals. There are three anthers that are clustered and about half as long as the tepals. Each individual flower only lasts one day. Flowering occurs from August to December. This species grows in the wild in the Western Cape province of South Africa only, and is much less common than its relatives W. paniculata and W. thyrsiflora. It is sometimes called short-stamen butterfly-lily in English.
Babiana vanzijliae is a species of geophyte of 4–12 cm (1.6–4.7 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It has leaves that consist of a sheath and a blade that are at an angle with each other. The leaf blades are narrow, sword- to lance-shaped and have a left and right surface, rather than an upper and lower surface. The leaf blades are pleated and covered in velvety hairs. The inflorescence contains three to five pale bluish mauve to yellow flowers, but the lower lateral tepals are yellow becoming pale around the edges, and with three stamens crowding under the upper lip. Flowering occurs from early August to the middle of September. The flowers emit a strong scent. B. vanzijliae grows along the Bokkeveld Escarpment near Nieuwoudtville in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
Babiana lobata is a species of geophyte of 12–25 cm (4.7–9.8 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It has leaves that consist of a sheath and a blade that are at a slight angle with each other. The leaf blades are narrow, sword- to lance-shaped and have a left and right surface, rather than an upper and lower surface. The leaf blades are slightly pleated and hairless. The inflorescence contains seven to twelve bluish mauve mirror-symmetrical flowers comprising six tepals, with the lower lateral tepals yellow sometimes flushed mauve at their tips, and with three stamens crowding under the dorsal tepal. Flowering occurs in July and August. The flowers emit a faint acrid-metallic scent. B. lobata grows in part of the Richtersveld in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
Babiana bainesii is a species of geophyte of 15–25 cm (5.9–9.8 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It sometimes grows in tufts. The approximately upright leaf blades appear directly from the ground, are narrow, sword- to line-shaped and have a left and right surface, rather than an upper and lower surface, and far exceed the flowers in length. The leaf blades are pleated. The inflorescence stem is fully underground and often branched. It contains two to eight blue, violet or mauve mirror-symmetrical flowers comprising six tepals. B. bainesii has a wide distribution and occurs in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, southernmost Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Babiana hirsuta is a species of geophyte of 40–70 cm (16–28 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It has many scarlet mirror-symmetrical flowers in a branched inflorescence with several short ascending branches. The flower has a narrow tube, and three large, blackish or dark purple anthers that extend beyond the dorsal tepal. The leaves are velvety hairy, lance-shaped, laterally compressed and set in a fan. It is an endemic species of South Africa that can be found along the west coast of the Northern and Western Cape provinces as far south as Saldanha. It is called red babiana in English, but that name is also applied to Babiana villosa, and strandlelie, sandlelie and rooihanekam in Afrikaans. Until 2008, the strandlelie was known as Babiana thunbergii.
Babiana sambucina is a species of geophyte of 8–30 cm (3.1–11.8 in) high that is assigned to the family Iridaceae. It has dense spikes of blue to violet-coloured, often fragrant flowers. There are two subspecies, B. sambucina subsp. longibracteata is restricted to a small area in the Northern Cape, B. sambucina subsp. sambucina grows in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. Flowers are present in August and September.
Babiana cinnamomea is a perennial plant of about 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in) high that annually forms leaves and flowers from an underground corm that is assigned to the iris family. It has inconspicuous pale greenish yellow flowers and broad, hairless, pleated leaves with undulating margins. Flowers may be found in May and June. It occurs in the very north of the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Babiana hypogaea is a perennial plant of about 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in) high that annually forms leaves and flowers from an underground corm that is assigned to the iris family. It has pale greenish yellow, buff or rarely white, mirro-symmetrical flowers and line- to sickle-shaped, slightly pleated, thinly hairy or hairless leaves that are held horizontally or inclined, that grows in the summer rainfall areas of southeastern Namibia and central and northern central South Africa. Flowers may be found between June and September and sometimes between December and May. It is called Bobbejaankalkoentjie, Bobbejaanuintjie or Ertappeluintjie in Afrikaans.
Babiana grandiflora is a perennial plant of 8–14 cm (3.1–5.5 in) high that emerges at the start of every growing season from an underground corm. It has pleated sideways flattened leaves. It can be distinguished from other species of bobbejaantjie mainly by its very large, mirror-symmetric deep to pale bluish flowers near the ground. It also has very short filaments crowded near the dorsal tepal, resulting in the anthers being largely hidden within the floral cup of the funnel-shaped perianth. The perianth is entirely filled by the style in the bottom half of the tube. The flowers have a strong acrid-spicy, violet-like scent. Babiana grandiflora is native to the coastal plains of Namaqualand, South Africa. The continued survival of this species is considered being of least-concern.